UNITAMS head: ‘Sudan’s youth deserve to have their aspirations realised’

Volker Perthes, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General in Sudan and head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), emphasised his ambitions for Sudan in a press release on Friday, stating that the youth of Sudan deserve to “translate their hopes and aspirations for freedom, peace, and justice, for their future into reality”.

The special representative’s impassioned press statement highlighted the effort made on the part of Sudan’s youth since the October 25 2021 military coup, as well as their commitment being an inspiration during his recent UN Security Council address in New York.

However, Perthes stated that the political situation will continue to deteriorate unless a “credible and fully functioning civilian-led government” is restored in Sudan. He added that this was the “first step towards realising these young peoples’ aspirations”.

Despite this, the UNITAMS head stated that “there are many signs of hope in reaching a solution”, pointing to the array of national initiatives.

Perthes stated that Sudan’s transitional path was reliant upon a “clear distribution of roles and responsibilities between the different actors” and “accountability and transitional justice”.

His statement renewed the efforts made by the Trilateral Mechanism, saying that he wished to reach an “agreement would aim to bring the widest possible consensus among Sudanese stakeholders”.

The special representative added that he saw no place “for future military coups in Sudan” and added that democracy and inclusion is the only way to bring long lasting stability.

This comment was followed by him welcoming Sudan’s chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council and Commander of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, “repeated commitments” in withdrawing from the political scene.

He finished his statement by calling on all Sudanese people to “take advantage of the great historical opportunity offered by the December 2018 revolution, which was able to bring the weight of broad grassroot groups to bear on the political elite”.

Read the full statement here: SUDAN: THE INEVITABLE NEED FOR POLITICAL DIALOGUE by Volker Perthes